Transportation News

Parents:
All bus route information will be available at registration on August 11 and 12. This is to clarify that in each community, there are multiple bus stops. Bus stops are determined based on where students live. In some locations, there is a combined stop. Please contact John VanderMerwee, Director of Transportation, at 839-8435 with specific questions.

Supply Lists for the 2008-09 School Year

Welcome to Glacial Drumlin School

Glacial Drumlin School
801 Damascus Trail s Cottage Grove, WI s 53527
Phone: (608) 839-8GDS (8437) Fax: (608) 839-8984
Summer 2008

Dear Parents and Students of Glacial Drumlin School:

Welcome to the 2008-09 school year! Some summers are slow and relaxing, while others are ever changing and feel like ‘life in the fast lane.’ For the summer crew at Glacial Drumlin, it’s been the latter. Thanks to the custodians, contractors, and administrative assistants for their diligence throughout the process of preparing for the start of the school year. Progress has been positive and we’re pleased to report that we’re on track. Our only delay is the delivery of furniture, which is due to arrive around August 20. Thanks to students who have offered to help their teachers unpack. We appreciate your support!
Along with our grand opening we’ve had important staff changes that you’ll read about in this letter, so stay tuned if you want to be in the loop regarding events, logistics, and staffing.

Staff Updates
Beginning with the close of the 07-08 school year, there were many staff changes that affected the overall staffing picture for the coming year. Six long-time Winnequah Middle School staff members were recognized for their years of service as they announced their retirements:
· Jan Aeschlimann – Spanish Teacher
· Kathy Bodilly – School Psychologist
· Deb Dade – Special Education Teacher
· Stephanie Ganshert – 7th Grade Math
· Reid Jorgensen – 7th Grade Math
· Patti McGinnis – Principal
Due to vacancies created by the aforementioned retirements as well as an enrollment bubble in this year’s eighth grade class, please note the following staff changes in grade level teams. New staff members are indicated in bold print.

Fifth Grade
Scott Amera, Traci Becker, Susan Jensen, Shana Link, Keira Short, and Naomi Skye

Sixth Grade
Team 1:
Sue Guess, Liz Hoppenjan, Anita Ranum
Team 2:
Shannon Larson, MJ Schwarz, Greg Sonsalla

Seventh Grade
Team 1:
Sarah Allison, Lynn Hovey, Doug Goetzinger, new math teacher (TBA)
Team 2:
Jacques Besant, Ken Eeg, Christopher Gramann, Bob Schlaeffer

Eighth Grade
Team 1:
Bill Anacker, Jan Collins, Lila Klahn, Jeff Thompson
Team 2:
Christopher Bradford, Ruth Flanagan, Brian Frederick, Brian Henry, Kris Olson

Encore Teacher Changes:

Jill Cook, Spanish Teacher
Eric Walker, French Teacher (replacing Sarah Hinton on a one year leave of absence)

Educational Assistants: Welcome Michelle Priebusch to the CARE program and Kathy Shook to our program for students with cognitive disabilities.

Our most recent change to announce is the departure of Mr. Paul Herrick. We were so looking forward to having Mr. Herrick in the cooperative leadership role at Glacial Drumlin for this coming school year. However, another opportunity presented itself for him to work as the principal of Deforest Middle School. As you would guess, it was a very difficult decision with competing commitments to consider. In the end, family needs played a big part in his decision. With Deforest being Mr. Herrick’s home school district, he is looking forward to being part of the school system where his children will attend school. Thanks to Mr. Herrick for his service to our district. Best wishes to him!
As a result of this change, the administrative structure will be that of a principal and assistant principal. I am pleased to serve as your principal. We’re looking for an assistant principal to share the administrative responsibilities. Stay tuned as the process unfolds.

Special Events
Mark your calendars for the following important back to school events in August:
· Monday, August 11 and Tuesday, August 12 is registration at Glacial Drumlin School. Please see the attached information. Tours will be provided every 15 minutes on those days.
· Sunday, August 17 at 1:00 PM is the Dedication Ceremony at GDS in the school gymnasium.
· Orientation on September 2 will include a 90-minute session for students in fifth and sixth grades only. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child’s homeroom teacher. See the attached information regarding Orientation for those grade levels. Seventh and eighth graders will attend for the full day on September 2.

Other Updates:
1) Check out the community garden on the west end of the building. Thanks to the leadership of parent, Beth Dolan, and community member, Kristy Williams, for spearheading this idea. Sunflowers were planted in June thanks to assistance from Mr. Amera and his son, Mrs. Dolan and her children, and Mrs. Williams. We’ll keep you posted on this special project.
2) Bike racks have been ordered for the start up of school. They will be located in the entrance facing Cottage Grove Road.
3) After School clubs organized through Jacob Tisue of the Cottage Grove Village Recreation Department will be announced at registration.
4) The tentative walk area has been identified as follows:
Grades 6-8 Walk Area (2 miles and/or defined hazardous area)
North of CTH BB
West of CTH N
South of Gaston Road
East of Buss Road
Grade 5 Walk Area (.75 miles and/or defined hazardous area)
North of CTH BB
East of Buss
South of Mourning Dove and west of Smithland Ln
South of Smithland Ln.
West of Oak Street
* The walk areas will be confirmed through John VanderMerwee at registration

In closing, on behalf of Glacial Drumlin staff, I look forward to an exciting year ahead as we celebrate this opportunity for students, staff, and parents to share the spirit of community.

Yours truly,


Renee Tennant, Principal

Mr. Herrick's Resignation

Dear Glacial Drumlin School Community,

After six wonderful years in the Monona Grove School District, I've decided to resign my position as Co-Principal of Glacial Drumlin School. I have accepted the principalship at DeForest Area Middle School, which is the community that I live in and the district in which my own kids will attend starting this September.

This has been a difficult decision for me. Although there are many professional and personal reasons that I accepted the position in DeForest, it will be extremely difficult to say "goodbye" to the great teachers and staff at the middle level, the long-standing relationships that I've developed with families in the communities of Monona and Cottage Grove, and, of course, the thousands of students that have shared their middle level experience with me.

The future is bright, however. Renee Tennant will lead the students, staff, and families of Glacial Drumlin School. GDS is a beautiful facility designed for middle school students. The 2008-09 school year will surely prove to be an exciting one for everyone involved! Renee is in the process of getting Glacial Drumlin prepared for the opening of the year. She and some GDS staff are in the process of searching for an Assistant Principal for the new school.

I'd like to thank the MGDS School Board for their ongoing dedication to the success of the district, as well as the administrative team that has taught me so much over the past six years. Most importantly, though, I want to thank the staff, students, and families for making my time in Monona Grove enjoyable and rewarding.

Best wishes,

Paul Herrick

GDS Contact Information

As we near the end of the construction process, it is important to note that the Glacial Drumlin office will be open throughout the summer during regular business hours. Phones will not be available until after we move into the new building in mid-June, but we do have phone numbers and other contact information available for you... once we're all moved it!

Address:
Glacial Drumlin School
801 Damascus Trail
Cottage Grove, WI 53527

Phone:
608.839.8GDS (8437)

Fax:
608.839.8984

We look forward to communicating with you after we move in to Glacial Drumlin School!

GDS School-Wide Behavior Plan

Glacial Drumlin School will use the behavior management plan that was used at Winnequah Middle School during the 2007-08 school year. The "SOLAR" (Solution Oriented Learning, Accountability, and Resolution) plan will have some slight modifications, but will continue to focus on helping students learn what appropriate behavior is before problems arise. If students do make some poor choices, the focus will be on finding a solution to the problem that was caused rather than simply punishing mistakes.

Students that make below-the-line or bottom-line choices will find themselves working with GDS staff to find a way to "own" the problem, think about a way to fix the problem, and restore any relationships that may have been damaged. Put simply, our goal is to help students experience and truly feel the benefits of having positive character and being a positive member of a community.

The SOLAR Plan uses philosophies and structures from other research-based models used in homes, schools, and communities around the country. Here are some examples:

• Character Education: We focus on character development at GDS. Some of the traits that we work to instill include confidence, honesty, achievement, respect, ambition, cooperation, tolerance, empathy, and responsibility.
• Love and Logic: The principles of Love and Logic (Jim Fay) focus on keeping problems where they should be... on the person who made the wrong decision! We all know that everyone makes mistakes. The power of Love and Logic comes in when trying to help students learn how to be accountable for actions and prevent future issues by developing choices and possible solutions that are designed to fix the problem.
• Restorative Justice: This is a relatively new area that is being used in schools. RJ started in the court system as a way to help offenders "make things right" with thier victims. SOLAR uses restorative practices to help students rebuild the bridges that may have been burned when an incident occurs.
• Above/Below the Line: This model clearly defines positive behavior and promotes recognition of those positive choices that kids make. It also defines behavior that is either below the line (or bottom line), then focuses on finding ways to change the behavior through the use of "Fix-It" plans.
  
• Tribes: Many staff at GDS have been trained in Tribes. Tribes promotes building a sense of caring and community withing classrooms, teams, and entire schools. Put simply, if students feel more connected to thier school, they are less apt to make poor choices.

The first level of intervention is at the classroom/staff level. When teachers and other staff establish structures and expectations for students, and then commit to playing a major role in teaching those structures and expectations, strong relationships can be built.

The second level of intervention generally includes office (guidance or administrative) intervention. The interventions made at this level continue to focus on learning from mistakes, but consequences (such as In-School-Suspension, Out-of-School-Suspension, police intervention, and/or expulsion) may be assigned depending on the severity of the behavior.

Lastly, we believe that parent involvement is key to the success of our school! We will communicate with parents whenever necessary to problem solve situations. Thank you in advance for the ongoing support that you offer your child! Thanks for sharing him/her with us!

8th Grade Schedule

Eighth grade students should arrive to school at around 7:55 or so. Prior to their first class, which starts at 8:10, students are welcome to play in the gym, purchase breakfast in the Commons, or work quietly in the IMC. Once class begins, 8th graders will be with their Core academic team for three classes until they are released to lunch at 11:05. After lunch recess, students will attend their Encore block, which consists of two classes. The next period is AME (Academics, Music, and Enrichment), where students are either in Band, Choir, Orchestra, or working with their Core teachers. After AME, 8th graders attend their final Core class before going to A&E, which is a short class at the end of the day designed to be a time in which students can finish up homework, work on team building activities, or simply getting organized before dismissal at 3:33. Click on the diagram to the right to have a closer look at the 8th grade schedule.

7th Grade Schedule

Seventh graders should try to arrive at school at around 7:55 am. At that time, they will have access to the gym, the IMC, and the Commons - where they can purchase breakfast. Their first Core class begins at 8:10, which means that each student will have Math, Science, English, or Social Studies at that time. Seventh graders then head into their Encore block for two periods before another Core class before lunch. After lunch, students are in AME (Academics, Music, and Enrichment) where they may be in Band, Choir, Orchestra, or Tutorial with their Core academic teachers. After AME, students have two more Core classes and finish the day in A&E, which is designed to be a place where students can finish up work, do team-building activities, or simply get organized before heading home at the 3:33 pm dismissal.

6th Grade Schedule

Sixth graders at Glacial Drumlin will begin their day at about 7:55, when buses arrive at Glacial Drumlin. Students will be able to buy breakfast in the Commons, play in the Gym, or work quietly in the IMC until they are dismissed to their lockers and their classrooms. All sixth grade students will have two Core classes right away in the morning. Next, they will attend Band, Choir, Orchestra, General Music, or a Tutorial Time with their Core academic teachers. This happens during the period called "AME", or Academics, Music, and Enrichment. After AME, students will eat lunch before coming back in for the rest of their Core classes. After Cores are over, each student will rotate through our Encore offerings (similar to Related Arts in 5th grade) for two periods. Finally, students finish the day in A&E, which is a short period designed to help students have access to help from staff, finish up some work, or simply get organized. Feel free to click on the diagram to the right to see the sixth grade schedule more closely.

5th Grade Schedule

The fifth grade schedule at Glacial Drumlin begins as soon as students arrive at school. We will have several supervised areas for students to be in the morning, including the Gym, Commons, and IMC. When it is time to head to class, students will stop at their lockers before heading to their Related Arts classes. The first "Core" classes that students will have in 5th grade are Social Studies, Science, and Math, which take place just before the lunch break. The afternoon is focused on Reading and Literacy skills. At the end of the day, students are able to have a snack before heading home at 2:45.

Important Dates

Mark your calendars! We have some important dates for families!

Monday, August 11 (12:00 pm - 7:00 pm) - Glacial Drumlin Registration @ GDS (Tours available!)
Tuesday, August 12 (8:00 am - 12:00 pm) - Glacial Drumlin Registration @ GDS (Tours available!)
Sunday, August 17 at 1:00 pm in the gym - Glacial Drumlin School Dedication Ceremony, sponsored by the Monona Grove Board of Education
Tuesday, September 2 - First day of school!
Thursday, September 4 - Picture day!
Monday, September 22 (5:30 - 7:30 pm) - Glacial Drumlin School Open House